Do not despair…

Today’s second big storm of the afternoon in the Maphutseng Valley produced good steady rain which was great for the crops, unlike the earlier hail storm, but was nothing special to photograph.

15 minutes before sunset I noticed a yellow tinge appearing in the sky to the West and thought to myself “this could be interesting” so I got ready to go out to photograph the sunset, just in case. I know from experience here that storms often seem to break in the final few minutes before sunset to often stunning effect so I grabbed my camera bag & car keys and as I stepped outside onto our stoep I was confronted by the most amazing sight, a perfect double rainbow set in a dramatic yellow sky. Whatever you think about photographing rainbows, this was truly stunning.

I quickly changed lens to my 16-35mm wide angle to be able to fit the entire rainbow in but this is where I had a problem. I went to photograph the rainbow but the rain was driving straight into the lens & there was nothing I could do to stop it. So this was the best I could get. Not the perfect photo that I wanted at all!

Now it’s true that sometimes as a photographer you just have to look and take in the beauty before your eyes & consign the view to your memory, not the memory card.

Many would give up at his point but knowing the light & the location I thought there may be other opportunities.

Time was of the essence, I jumped into the Landy and headed out to find a view across the valley in the opposite direction. I found a location & here I even managed to grab a very different photo of the rainbow in the quickly changing lighting conditions but still the cold rain was blowing in my face.

So I turned my camera in the opposite direction and this is where the real image of the evening was to be found…a beautiful fiery sunset mountain. It was the perfect end to a frantic 15 minutes and the moral of the story…If the perfect shot is impossible don’t give up, think about the light, chase after it and find yourself a different angle. You never know it may just be the better option! It was for me tonight.